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Yesterday afternoon Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Eileen Mitchell will take over as his Chief of Staff in mid-August. Currently AT&T Illinois’ Vice President of External Affairs and a registered lobbyist, Mitchell was previously Issues Director and Special Assistant for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. She also volunteers as Chairman of the Leader Council for Mercy Home for Boys & Girlsand serves on the advisory board for Misericordia, a non-profit that provides housing for the developmentally disabled, according the the press release from the Mayor’s Office. Mitchell replaces Forrest Claypool, who was recently appointed as the CEO for Chicago Public Schools after working in the Mayor’s Office for less than three months.

ComEd executive John Hooker will take over as Chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Board. He’ll replace Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott, who held the position for the past four years. Hooker has worked at ComEd for 44-years and is currently the company’s Executive Vice President of Legislative and External Affairs. The CHA Board is a ten-member body and commissioners serve five-year terms. Their appointments need City Council approval.

Progressive Caucus Meetup
The City Council’s Progressive Caucus will hold a public meeting 6:00pm Sunday night at Puebla Restaurant (2658 N. Milwaukee). Each month, one member of the eleven member caucus commits to hosting a meet and greet with the public to discuss their agenda and priorities for the city. This month, newly-elected Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) will host.

Developer Withdraws Plans to Build Residential Highrise in Lincoln ParkAld. Michele Smith (43) announced developer Lexington Homes LLC will not move forward with its plan to build a 17-story, 78-unit apartment complex at the site of the Market Place Food Store (523 W. Diversey / 2775 N. Hampden Court). “After several months of discussion and prolonged negotiations among my office, the Park West Community Association, local neighbors and the developer to explore potential changes, it became clear that the current proposal could not be realistically modified to address neighborhood concerns,” Ald. Smith wrote in an email.

Obama Romantic ‘Dramedy’ Filming in 4th Ward This WeekendAld. Will Burns (4) notified ward residents about street closures related to filming for the upcoming movie “Southside With You”. The film follows a young Barack and Michelle Obama on their first date in Chicago. In an email sent to Burns’ 4th Ward newsletter subscribers, location managers say they have cooperation from the City’s Film and Police Departments. “In the past Thirty-five [sic] years, more than 1300 film and television projects have been made in Illinois creating over 700,000 temporary jobs and leaving in excess of 1.7 billion dollars in our economy,” the email says, “Ultimately it is the cooperation of individuals like you that make Illinois a great place to make movies.”